Socorro County, NM

County

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2024 Population

16,200

US Senator

Martin Heinrich

Democratic Party

US Senator

Ben Ray Luján

Democratic Party

2024 Median Age

40.3

1.51% 1-year increase

2024 Poverty Rate

33.2%

14.5% 1-year increase

2024 Median Household Income

$36,570

23.1% 1-year decline

2024 Median Property Value

$137,500

3.98% 1-year decline

2024 Employed Population

5,034

10.5% 1-year decline

About

None of the households in Socorro County, NM reported speaking a non-English language at home as their primary shared language. This does not consider the potential multi-lingual nature of households, but only the primary self-reported language spoken by all members of the household.

97.5% of the residents in Socorro County, NM are U.S. citizens.

The largest universities in Socorro County, NM are New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology (356 degrees awarded in 2023).

In 2024, the median property value in Socorro County, NM was $137,500, and the homeownership rate was 75.1%.

Most people in Socorro County, NM drove alone to work, and the average commute time was 16.2 minutes. The average car ownership in Socorro County, NM was 3 cars per household.

Socorro County, NM borders Catron County, NM, Cibola County, NM, Lincoln County, NM, Sierra County, NM, Torrance County, NM, and Valencia County, NM.

About the photo: Snow Geese, Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, Socorro County, New Mexico

Photo by mwwile

United States New Mexico

Population & Diversity

Socorro County, NM is home to a population of 16.2k people, from which 97.5% are citizens. As of 2024, 4.22% of Socorro County, NM residents were born outside of the country (684 people).

In 2024, there were 1.01 times more White (Non-Hispanic) residents (5.32k people) in Socorro County, NM than any other race or ethnicity. There were 5.28k Two Races Including Other (Hispanic) and 1.72k American Indian & Alaska Native (Non-Hispanic) residents, the second and third most common ethnic groups.

Population & Diversity

Citizenship

97.5%

2024 Citizenship

96.1%

2023 Citizenship

As of 2024, 97.5% of Socorro County, NM residents were US citizens, which is higher than the national average of 93.2%. In 2023, the percentage of US citizens in Socorro County, NM was 96.1%, meaning that the rate of citizenship has been increasing.

The following chart shows US citizenship percentages in Socorro County, NM compared to that of it's neighboring and parent geographies.

Diversity

Race and Ethnicity

The 3 largest ethnic groups in Socorro County, NM

White (Non-Hispanic)
5.32k ± 48
Two Races Including Other (Hispanic)
5.28k ± 751
American Indian & Alaska Native (Non-Hispanic)
1.72k ± 525

50.3%

Hispanic Population

8.16k people

50.3% of the people in Socorro County, NM are hispanic (8.16k people).

The following chart shows the 8 races represented in Socorro County, NM as a share of the total population.

Global Diversity

The PUMS dataset is not available at the County level, so we are showing data for New Mexico.

Most Common Origin

Mexico
124,411 ± 8,401 people
Philippines
6,498 ± 1,976 people
Germany
4,186 ± 1,587 people

In 2023, the most common birthplace for the foreign-born residents of New Mexico was Mexico, the natal country of 124,411 New Mexico residents, followed by Philippines with 6,498 and Germany with 4,186.

Foreign-Born Population

4.22%

2024 Foreign-Born Population

684 people

5.76%

2023 Foreign-Born Population

939 people

As of 2024, 4.22% of Socorro County, NM residents (684 people) were born outside of the United States, which is approximately the same as the national average of 14%. In 2023, the percentage of foreign-born citizens in Socorro County, NM was 5.76%, meaning that the rate has been decreasing.

The following chart shows the percentage of foreign-born residents in Socorro County, NM compared to that of it's neighboring and parent geographies.

Military

Veterans

Most Common Service Period

Vietnam
245 ± 109
Gulf War (2001-)
203 ± 166
Gulf War (1990s)
94 ± 91

Socorro County, NM has a large population of military personnel who served in Vietnam, 1.21 times greater than any other conflict.

The chart shows the distribution of veterans by conflict in Socorro County, NM.

Economy

The economy of Socorro County, NM employs 5.03k people. In 2024, the largest industries in Socorro County, NM were Educational Services (1,301 people), Retail Trade (783 people), and Professional, Scientific, & Technical Services (419 people), and the highest paying industries were Mining, Quarrying, & Oil & Gas Extraction ($151,250), Transportation & Warehousing ($145,000), and Finance & Insurance, & Real Estate & Rental & Leasing ($108,438).

Employment

Occupations

5.03k

2024 Value

± 771

−10.5%

1 Year decline

± 22.1%

From 2023 to 2024, employment in Socorro County, NM declined at a rate of −10.5%, from 5.63k employees to 5.03k employees.

The most common job groups, by number of people living in Socorro County, NM, are Management Occupations (755 people), Education Instruction, & Library Occupations (649 people), and Sales & Related Occupations (540 people). This chart illustrates the share breakdown of the primary jobs held by residents of Socorro County, NM.

Unemployment Insurance Claims

Data is only available at the state level. Showing data for New Mexico.

This chart shows weekly unemployment insurance claims in New Mexico (not-seasonally adjusted) compared with the four states with the most similar impact.

The most recent data point uses Advance State Claims data, which can be revised in subsequent weeks.

Industries

Employment by Industries

5.03k

2024 Value

± 771

−10.5%

1 Year decline

± 22.1%

From 2023 to 2024, employment in Socorro County, NM declined at a rate of −10.5%, from 5.63k employees to 5.03k employees.

The most common employment sectors for those who live in Socorro County, NM, are Educational Services (1,301 people), Retail Trade (783 people), and Professional, Scientific, & Technical Services (419 people). This chart shows the share breakdown of the primary industries for residents of Socorro County, NM, though some of these residents may live in Socorro County, NM and work somewhere else. Census data is tagged to a residential address, not a work address.

Median Earnings by Industry

$39,145

Median earning men ± $17,103

$26,855

Median earning women ± $8,663

The industries with the best median earnings for men in 2024 are Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services ($76,068), Manufacturing ($54,244), and Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining ($53,917).

The industries with the best median earnings for women in 2024 are Manufacturing ($58,229), Public Administration ($56,111), and Finance & Insurance, & Real Estate & Rental & Leasing ($47,000).

Employment by Industry Sector

Data is only available at the state level. Showing data for New Mexico.

Y-Axis

2.72%

Year-over-year growth

Employment change between February 2022 and February 2023

As of February 2023, there are 860k people employed in New Mexico. This represents a 2.72% increase in employment when compared to February 2022.

Right after the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, during April 2020, a general dip can be seen across industry sectors, resulting in an overall decline in employment by 10.8%.

The following chart shows monthly employment numbers for each industry sector in New Mexico.

Establishments by Size

The industries with the most establishments

16
Health Care and Social Assistance
15
Other Services (except Public Administration)
13
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services

The visualization shows the distribution of establishments by industry and by size according to the number of employees.

The visualization shows the number of establishments and its share across establishment sizes.

Payroll by Industry Sector

The industries with the highest total annual payroll

$23.9k
Health Care and Social Assistance
$17.5k
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
$12.2k
Retail Trade

The chart shows the total annual payroll and the average annual payroll by industry.

Education

In 2023, universities in Socorro County, NM awarded 356 degrees. The student population of Socorro County, NM in 2023 is skewed towards men, with 1,132 male students and 581 female students.

Most students graduating from Universities in Socorro County, NM are White (173 and 52.7%), Hispanic or Latino (117 and 35.7%), Asian (13 and 3.96%), and Two or More Races (10 and 3.05%).

The largest universities in Socorro County, NM by number of degrees awarded are New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology (356 and 100%).

The most popular majors in Socorro County, NM are Mechanical Engineering (75 and 21.1%), Computer Science (41 and 11.5%), and Chemical Engineering (26 and 7.3%).

The median tuition cost in Socorro County, NM for a public four year colleges is $7,664 for in-state students and $24,918 for out-of-state students.

Admissions & Enrollments

Applicants, Admissions & Enrolled

University

Measure

In 2023 in Socorro County, NM, the percentage of applicants admitted was 54%, while the percentage of admitted who enrolled was 37%. The number of students enrolled in 2023 was 1,713 (66.1% men and 33.9% women).

The line chart shows the evolution of the percentage of applicants admitted, admitted who enrolled or the number of students enrolled according to the option selected in the upper button.

Enrollments by Gender and Races

Universities

In 2023 there were 1,713 students enrolled in Socorro County, NM, 66.1% men and 33.9% women.

By race, the largest number of students enrolled was concentrated in White with 757 records, of which 31.3% were women and 68.7% men.

Completions

Concentrations

Most Common

Chemical Engineering
20 degrees awarded
Mechanical Engineering
50 degrees awarded
Computer Science
32 degrees awarded

In 2023, the most common concentation for Bachelors Degree recipients in Socorro County, NM was Chemical Engineering with 20 degrees awarded.

This visualization illustrates the percentage of students graduating with a Bachelors Degree from schools in Socorro County, NM according to their major.

Universities

Gender

Race

New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology

Largest Universities by degrees awarded

356 degrees awarded

In 2023, the institution with the largest number of graduating students was New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology with 356 degrees awarded.

Student Diversity

University

In 2023, 238 men were awarded degrees from institutions in Socorro County, NM, which is 2.02 times more than the 118 female students who received degrees in the same year.

In 2023, the most common race/ethnicity group awarded degrees at institutions was White students. These 173 degrees mean that there were 1.48 times more degrees awarded to White students then the next closest race/ethnicity group, Hispanic or Latino, with 117 degrees awarded.

Awarded Degrees over Time

The graph shows the evolution of awarded degrees by degrees. Under the paragraphs, the average number of awarded degrees by university in each degree is shown.

Tuition

Average Net Price by Sector

Universities

Public, 4-year or above ($7,664) is the sector with the highest median state tuition in 2023.

Public, 4-year or above ($1,394) is the sector with the highest median state fee in 2023.

Public, 4-year or above ($800) is the sector with the highest average net price of books and supplies.

The graph shows the average net price by sector and year.

Housing & Living

The median property value in Socorro County, NM was $137,500 in 2024, which is 0.413 times smaller than the national average of $332,700. Between 2023 and 2024 the median property value increased from $143,200 to $137,500, a 3.98% decrease. The homeownership rate in Socorro County, NM is 75.1%, which is higher than the national average of 65.2%.

People in Socorro County, NM have an average commute time of 16.2 minutes, and they drove alone to work. Car ownership in Socorro County, NM is higher than the national average, with an average of 3 cars per household.

In 2025, 12.4% of the population was living with severe housing problems in Socorro County, NM. From 2014 to 2025, the indicator declined 2.89%.

Housing

Property

$137,500

Median Property Value 2024

±$30,619

$3,957

Median Property Taxes

±$632

The following chart display owner-occupied housing units distributed between a series of property tax buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. In Socorro County, NM the largest share of households pay taxes in the < $800 range.

The chart underneath the paragraph shows the property taxes in Socorro County, NM compared to it's parent and neighbor geographies.

Rent vs Own

75.1%

Homeownership

2024

62.1%

Homeowners with Mortgage

2024

In 2024, 75.1% of the housing units in Socorro County, NM were occupied by their owner. This percentage grew from the previous year's rate of 73.5%.

This chart shows the percentage of owner in Socorro County, NM compared it's parent and neighboring geographies.

Equity

Household Income

Please note that the buckets used in this visualization were not evenly distributed by ACS when publishing the data.

$36,570

Median Household Income

± $11,077

5.27k

Number of Households

± 660

In 2024, the median household income of the 5.27k households in Socorro County, NM declined from $36,570 from the previous year's value of $47,556.

The following chart displays the households in Socorro County, NM distributed between a series of income buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. The largest share of households have an income in the $10k - $15k range.

Wage Distribution

The closest comparable wage GINI for Socorro County, NM is from New Mexico.

0.462

2023 Wage GINI in New Mexico

0.462

2022 Wage GINI in New Mexico

In 2023, the income inequality in New Mexico was 0.462 according to the GINI calculation of the wage distribution. Income inequality had a 0.0654% growth from 2022 to 2023, which means that wage distribution grew somewhat less even. The GINI for New Mexico was lower than than the national average of 0.476. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly in New Mexico in comparison to the national average.

This chart shows the number of workers in New Mexico across various wage buckets compared to the national average.

Transportation

Commuter Transportation

Most Common Commute in 2024

Drove Alone (62.5%)
Worked At Home (18%)
Walked (9.54%)

In 2024, 62.5% of workers in Socorro County, NM drove alone to work, followed by those who worked at home (18%) and those who walked to work (9.54%).

The following chart shows the number of households using each mode of transportation over time, using a logarithmic scale on the y-axis to help better show variations in the smaller means of commuting.

Commute Time

16.2 minutes

Average Travel Time

Using averages, employees in Socorro County, NM have a shorter commute time (16.2 minutes) than the normal US worker (26.4 minutes). Additionally, 0.956% of the workforce in Socorro County, NM have "super commutes" in excess of 90 minutes.

The chart below shows how the median household income in Socorro County, NM compares to that of it's neighboring and parent geographies.

Car Ownership

3 cars

Average Number

The following chart displays the households in Socorro County, NM distributed between a series of car ownership buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. The largest share of households in Socorro County, NM have 3 cars.

Poverty

Severe Housing Problems

In 2025, 12.4% of the population was living with severe housing problems in Socorro County, NM. From 2014 to 2025, the indicator declined 2.89%.

The graph shows the trend of the percentage of the population living with severe housing problems.

Poverty & Diversity

33.2% of the population for whom poverty status is determined in Socorro County, NM (5.1k out of 15.4k people) live below the poverty line, a number that is higher than the national average of 12.5%. The largest demographic living in poverty are Males 12 - 14, followed by Females 55 - 64 and then Males 18 - 24.

The most common racial or ethnic group living below the poverty line in Socorro County, NM is Hispanic, followed by Two Or More and White.

The Census Bureau uses a set of money income thresholds that vary by family size and composition to determine who classifies as impoverished. If a family's total income is less than the family's threshold than that family and every individual in it is considered to be living in poverty.

Children in Poverty

In 2025, 32.4% of the children was living in poverty in Socorro County, NM. From 2014 to 2025, the indicator declined 8%.

The graph shows the trend of the percentage of the children living in poverty.

Social Needs

Data only available at the state level.

Most prevalent states

California
35,798 individuals
New York
5,087 individuals
Florida
4,915 individuals

In 2017, California had the highest estimated number of chronically homeless individuals in the nation, at 35,798. New York has the second highest (5,087), followed by Florida (4,915).

The following map shows the estimated number of chronically homeless individuals by state over multiple years.

Security

Crimes & Accidents

Indicator

In 2022, the number of reported violent crimes offenses per 100,000 population was 515 in Socorro County, NM. From 2014 to 2022, the indicator declined 123 per 100,000 population.

The graph shows the trend in the number of reported violent crimes offenses per 100,000 population.

Health

90.6% of the population of Socorro County, NM has health coverage, with 28.1% on employee plans, 37.7% on Medicaid, 11.1% on Medicare, 10.2% on non-group plans, and 3.44% on military or VA plans.

Primary care physicians in Socorro County, NM see 2,330 patients per year on average, which represents a 0% change from the previous year (2,330 patients). Compare this to dentists who see 2014 patients per year, and mental health providers who see 499 patients per year.

By gender, of the total number of insured persons, 49% were men and 51% were women.

Coverage

Patient to Clinician Ratios

2,330 to 1

Patient to Primary Care Physician Ratio in Socorro County, NM

Primary care physicians in Socorro County, NM see an average of 2,330 patients per year. This represents a 0% change from the previous year (2,330 patients).

The following chart shows how the number of patients seen by primary care physicians has been changing over time in Socorro County, NM in comparison to its neighboring geographies.

Health Care Diversity

In 2024, insured persons according to age ranges were distributed in 27.6% under 18 years, 17.3% between 18 and 34 years, 34% between 35 and 64 years, and 21.1% over 64 years.

By gender, of the total number of insured persons, 49% were men and 51% were women.

The following chart shows the number of people with health coverage by gender.

Uninsured People

9.44%

Uninsured

28.1%

Employer Coverage

37.7%

Medicaid

11.1%

Medicare

10.2%

Non-Group

3.44%

Military or VA

Between 2023 and 2024, the percent of uninsured citizens in Socorro County, NM grew by 15% from 8.21% to 9.44%.

The following chart shows how the percent of uninsured individuals in Socorro County, NM changed over time compared with the percent of individuals enrolled in various types of health insurance.

Health Indicators

Health Outcomes

Indicator

In 2025, the number of deaths among residents under age 18 per 100,000 population was 93.9 in Socorro County, NM.

The graphic shows the trend of the indicator in Socorro County, NM.

Health Behaviors

Indicator

In 2025, the percentage of the adult population (age 18 and older) that reports a body mass index (BMI) greater than or equal to 30 kg/m2 (age-adjusted) was 35% in Socorro County, NM.

The graphic shows the trend of the indicator in Socorro County, NM.